Science fiction on film has been around almost as long as cinema itself. Starting in 1895 when the first public showings of motion pictures commenced in France and the United States, and as filmmakers began to realize that they could string scenes together to tell a complete, coherent story, the genres of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy were part of the equation.
Celluloid offered ambitious storytellers the chance to put images on the screen—crude at the time, but still groundbreaking—that had only been glimpsed in the pages of novels, short stories, and later, comic books and pulp magazines. And as filmmaking techniques themselves progressed, and the motion picture industry began to take shape in the early 20th century, visionaries came along with audacious ideas that moved the art form, the technology, and the genres forward well into the new millennium.
Below are 16 such visionaries; men and women who either grew...
Celluloid offered ambitious storytellers the chance to put images on the screen—crude at the time, but still groundbreaking—that had only been glimpsed in the pages of novels, short stories, and later, comic books and pulp magazines. And as filmmaking techniques themselves progressed, and the motion picture industry began to take shape in the early 20th century, visionaries came along with audacious ideas that moved the art form, the technology, and the genres forward well into the new millennium.
Below are 16 such visionaries; men and women who either grew...
- 8/18/2023
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Throughout the history of cinema, numerous directors have left their unique and indelible mark on the industry. One such director is Fritz Lang, a visionary filmmaker whose groundbreaking work continues to influence and inspire generations of artists. In this article, we will explore the cinematic legacy of Fritz Lang, with a particular focus on his body of work known as the “Long Fritz.” We will delve into his early life and influences, examine his most iconic films, and discuss the lasting impact of his innovative directing style on film noir and modern cinema.
Introduction to Fritz Lang and the Long Fritz
Fritz Lang, born in Austria in 1890, was a pioneer of German Expressionist cinema and an early architect of film noir. His groundbreaking work in the 1920s and 1930s laid the foundation for what would later become known as the “Long Fritz” – an extensive body of work that spans a wide range of genres,...
Introduction to Fritz Lang and the Long Fritz
Fritz Lang, born in Austria in 1890, was a pioneer of German Expressionist cinema and an early architect of film noir. His groundbreaking work in the 1920s and 1930s laid the foundation for what would later become known as the “Long Fritz” – an extensive body of work that spans a wide range of genres,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
In Tom Gormican's 2022 film "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," Pedro Pascal plays Javi Gutierrez, a fun-loving playboy billionaire living in Majorca, Spain. Javi is a huge fan of actor Nicolas Cage and hires him to hang out for a weekend. Cage, playing himself, cautiously accepts the offer, having found himself in a bit of a creative rut; a younger version of Cage appears in visions to lambaste his older self that he is no longer the massive movie star he once was. Javi will spend a great deal of time heaping praise on Cage and eventually reveals that he has a secret collectibles vault full of Cage-related memorabilia. Cage, meanwhile, will be secretly approached by the CIA, and told that Javi is actually a dangerous arms dealer that might be involved in an ongoing kidnapping plot. The film is bright, whimsical, and enjoyable. Cage, as he always does,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
HBO Max is packed with new and classic genre titles this Halloween season. From the new Invisible Man and Doctor Sleep, to The Brood and The Blob, here's a look of what HBO Max is offering as part of their "Halloween is Here" lineup:
Hit horror movies you won’t want to stream alone like The Invisible Man, Us, It: Chapter 2, and Doctor Sleep, creepy cult classics Night of the Living Dead, Eraserhead and Scanners, and psychological thrillers like The Haunting, Glass, and Dolores Claiborne will be available to stream alongside TV series such as Lovecraft Country, True Blood, The Outsider, and Raised by Wolves, and scares for all ages such as Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays, Gremlins 2, Spooky Buddies, and Adventure Time.
In addition, HBO Max is pulling together a collection of Halloween-themed episodes from fan-favorite series like Friends, Euphoria, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Big Bang Theory,...
Hit horror movies you won’t want to stream alone like The Invisible Man, Us, It: Chapter 2, and Doctor Sleep, creepy cult classics Night of the Living Dead, Eraserhead and Scanners, and psychological thrillers like The Haunting, Glass, and Dolores Claiborne will be available to stream alongside TV series such as Lovecraft Country, True Blood, The Outsider, and Raised by Wolves, and scares for all ages such as Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays, Gremlins 2, Spooky Buddies, and Adventure Time.
In addition, HBO Max is pulling together a collection of Halloween-themed episodes from fan-favorite series like Friends, Euphoria, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Big Bang Theory,...
- 10/2/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Fritz Lang’s final feature brings his career full circle to the core thriller concepts he pioneered back in 1922: superstitious human nature and sinister technological advances combine to make the 20th century an Age of Terror. Lang reboots his highly cinematic Weimar-era narrative tricks for a film that heralds the beginning of a brave new world where total surveillance and mind control are at the service of paranoid conspiracies. I could talk for hours about the directing/editing in this show — it’s so sophisticated, and yet so simple.
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
- 6/3/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Fritz Lang’s final feature is a mind-blowing culmination of the core thriller concepts he pioneered back in 1922: superstitious human nature and sinister technological advances combine to make the 20th century an Age of Terror. Lang reboots his highly cinematic Weimar-era narrative tricks for a film that heralds the beginning of a brave new world where total surveillance and mind control are at the service of paranoid conspiracies. I could talk for hours about the directing/editing in this show — it’s so sophisticated, and yet so simple.
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
- 6/2/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
HBO Max launched on May 27th and has been off to a pretty good start with well over 10,000 hours worth of content on the service from day one. If you’re a horror fan, you may be excited to hear that a fairly decent portion of those 10,000 hours include some of the biggest and most popular horror films of all time. So, if you haven’t subscribed yet, now might just be the time to do so.
Do you like Steven Spielberg and massive sharks eating people? If so, you’ll be delighted to hear that you can catch the entire Jaws franchise – which spans four films – on HBO Max right away. If you haven’t ever seen them, now’s a great opportunity to take a trip back in time to catch up on what was arguably the very first blockbuster movie series.
The majority of the Aliens films...
Do you like Steven Spielberg and massive sharks eating people? If so, you’ll be delighted to hear that you can catch the entire Jaws franchise – which spans four films – on HBO Max right away. If you haven’t ever seen them, now’s a great opportunity to take a trip back in time to catch up on what was arguably the very first blockbuster movie series.
The majority of the Aliens films...
- 5/28/2020
- by Billy Givens
- We Got This Covered
Fritz Lang’s third wartime anti-Nazi film is an Alfred Hitchcock-type spy chase taken from a psychological novel by Graham Greene, with the psychology angle transferred mostly to physical threats — ticking clocks, a mystery cake, and German bombs in the Blitz. Ray Milland is cool and collected for a man just released from a mental asylum, and proves up to the task of defeating a Nazi conspiracy.
Ministry of Fear
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1944 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 86 min. / Street Date August 27, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £14.99
Starring: Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond, Hillary Brooke, Percy Waram, Dan Duryea, Alan Napier, Erskine Sanford, Byron Foulger.
Cinematography: Henry Sharp
Film Editor: Victor Young
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by Seton I. Miller from the novel by Graham Greene
Produced by Seton I. Miller
Directed by Fritz Lang
Why do we go for certain Region B Blu-ray imports, even...
Ministry of Fear
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1944 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 86 min. / Street Date August 27, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £14.99
Starring: Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond, Hillary Brooke, Percy Waram, Dan Duryea, Alan Napier, Erskine Sanford, Byron Foulger.
Cinematography: Henry Sharp
Film Editor: Victor Young
Original Music: Victor Young
Written by Seton I. Miller from the novel by Graham Greene
Produced by Seton I. Miller
Directed by Fritz Lang
Why do we go for certain Region B Blu-ray imports, even...
- 8/28/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
‘Harper Days Are Here Again,’ reads the advertising tag line for this worthy follow-up to Paul Newman’s first outing as Ross Macdonald’s jaded private eye. The movie is certainly worthy, but how did the producers let the terrific song Killing Me Softly with His Song get away?
The Drowning Pool
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1976 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Gail Strickland, Melanie Griffith, Linda Haynes, Richard Jaeckel.
Cinematography: Gordon Willis
Film Editor: John C. Howard
Production Design: Paul Sylbert
Original Music: Michael Small
Written by Tracy Keenan Wynn, Lorenzo Semple Jr., Walter Hill from the novel by Ross Macdonald
Produced by David Foster, Lawrence Turman
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Looking to make lightning strike twice, Paul Newman returned to his Lew Harper character in another adaptation of a Ross Macdonald tale. The star handles it very well,...
The Drowning Pool
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1976 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Gail Strickland, Melanie Griffith, Linda Haynes, Richard Jaeckel.
Cinematography: Gordon Willis
Film Editor: John C. Howard
Production Design: Paul Sylbert
Original Music: Michael Small
Written by Tracy Keenan Wynn, Lorenzo Semple Jr., Walter Hill from the novel by Ross Macdonald
Produced by David Foster, Lawrence Turman
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Looking to make lightning strike twice, Paul Newman returned to his Lew Harper character in another adaptation of a Ross Macdonald tale. The star handles it very well,...
- 3/13/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This time on the podcast, Ryan is joined by Arik Devens to discuss Fritz Lang’s The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
Locked away in an asylum for a decade and teetering between life and death, the criminal mastermind Doctor Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) has scribbled his last will and testament: a manifesto establishing a future empire of crime. When the document’s nefarious writings start leading to terrifying parallels in reality, it’s up to Berlin’s star detective, Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke, reprising his role from M) to connect the most fragmented, maddening clues in a case unlike any other.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS or in iTunes
Purchase the Film
Episode Links The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) – The Criterion Collection The Testament of Dr. Mabuse – From the Current – The Criterion Collection Fritz Lang – Explore – The Criterion Collection Watch The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Online at Hulu The Testament of Dr. Mabuse...
Locked away in an asylum for a decade and teetering between life and death, the criminal mastermind Doctor Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) has scribbled his last will and testament: a manifesto establishing a future empire of crime. When the document’s nefarious writings start leading to terrifying parallels in reality, it’s up to Berlin’s star detective, Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke, reprising his role from M) to connect the most fragmented, maddening clues in a case unlike any other.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS or in iTunes
Purchase the Film
Episode Links The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) – The Criterion Collection The Testament of Dr. Mabuse – From the Current – The Criterion Collection Fritz Lang – Explore – The Criterion Collection Watch The Testament of Dr. Mabuse Online at Hulu The Testament of Dr. Mabuse...
- 11/8/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
It is by far the most influential film in the history of science fiction and following a triumphant tour of the freshly restored version assembled after the discovery of twenty five minutes of footage long believed to be lost, Fritz Lang's Metropolis is hitting BluRay all buffed and polished and restored back to the form it was in when originally released.
With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot, Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars, among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, The Big Heat, etc.), its jaw-dropping production values, iconic imagery, and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Buñuel as "a captivating symphony of movement" - remain as powerful as ever.
Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes,...
With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot, Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars, among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, The Big Heat, etc.), its jaw-dropping production values, iconic imagery, and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Buñuel as "a captivating symphony of movement" - remain as powerful as ever.
Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes,...
- 10/8/2010
- Screen Anarchy
These notes are for Bill Ryan.
One would hope that for pretty much every cinephile reading this, the object announced above (from—you'd never guess—Eureka!/Masters of Cinema, Region 2 Pal U.K.) would sell itself. I can't imagine anybody who would deny that Fritz Lang's three films about the master criminal created by Norbert Jacques are not merely touchstones of genre cinema, not merely touchstones of auteurists cinema, but touchstones of cinema itself. First there is 1922's Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler, a.k.a. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler—although Mabuse maven David Kalat reminds us in the commentary that "Spieler" doesn't just, or only, mean "gambler," but also "actor," a person who is "in it;" in hip-hop parlance, "player" (or "playa"). It is a nearly five-hour film, in two parts, that evokes corruption and rot in a fashion that often recalls an all-night drug and alcohol jag—exhilarating highs melting into stomach-churning lows.
One would hope that for pretty much every cinephile reading this, the object announced above (from—you'd never guess—Eureka!/Masters of Cinema, Region 2 Pal U.K.) would sell itself. I can't imagine anybody who would deny that Fritz Lang's three films about the master criminal created by Norbert Jacques are not merely touchstones of genre cinema, not merely touchstones of auteurists cinema, but touchstones of cinema itself. First there is 1922's Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler, a.k.a. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler—although Mabuse maven David Kalat reminds us in the commentary that "Spieler" doesn't just, or only, mean "gambler," but also "actor," a person who is "in it;" in hip-hop parlance, "player" (or "playa"). It is a nearly five-hour film, in two parts, that evokes corruption and rot in a fashion that often recalls an all-night drug and alcohol jag—exhilarating highs melting into stomach-churning lows.
- 11/3/2009
- MUBI
Maybe you see further than I can see,
or maybe things just look differently.
Maybe I'm nothing but a shadow on the wall.
Maybe love's a tomb where you dance at night.
Maybe sanctuary is an electric light -
I get so tired it's like I'm another man.
And everything I see seems so underhanded.
I don't see anything that I want.
And I don't see anything that I want.
*—Pere Ubu, "Heart of Darkness," 1975
Countess: Ich fürchte, es gibt überhaupt nichts auf der Welt, wofür ich mich auf die Dauer interessieren könnte…Alles, was fich vom Auto, von der Loge, vom Fenster aus beobachten lässt, ist teils widerwärtig, teils uninteressant…Mindestens is test lang; weilig!
Mabuse: Sie haben recht, Gräfin—nichts auf der Welt ist auf die Dauer interessant—ausser einem…
—From Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler, I: Der Grosse Spieler, screenplay by Thea von Harbou from the novel by Norbert Jacques,...
or maybe things just look differently.
Maybe I'm nothing but a shadow on the wall.
Maybe love's a tomb where you dance at night.
Maybe sanctuary is an electric light -
I get so tired it's like I'm another man.
And everything I see seems so underhanded.
I don't see anything that I want.
And I don't see anything that I want.
*—Pere Ubu, "Heart of Darkness," 1975
Countess: Ich fürchte, es gibt überhaupt nichts auf der Welt, wofür ich mich auf die Dauer interessieren könnte…Alles, was fich vom Auto, von der Loge, vom Fenster aus beobachten lässt, ist teils widerwärtig, teils uninteressant…Mindestens is test lang; weilig!
Mabuse: Sie haben recht, Gräfin—nichts auf der Welt ist auf die Dauer interessant—ausser einem…
—From Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler, I: Der Grosse Spieler, screenplay by Thea von Harbou from the novel by Norbert Jacques,...
- 10/30/2009
- MUBI
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